Here’s a link to the Brotemarkle, Davis & CO. blog. Strategic assistance for your business.

http://blog.bdcocpa.com/author/craig/

Did you miss our last session of “Show Me The Money”?

Click the link below. We recorded it for you.

http://thepassionateaccountant.com/show-me-the-money-recordings/

Did you miss Woody Levitan in our last Show Me The Money webcast?

Click here for recording.

In this session, Woody goes through an in-depth description of his client consultation techniques using the $COPE It! software.

Business owners deserve more from their CPAs. We’re counting down their 12 wishes at our blog @ http://www.mentorplus.com

You might enjoy . . .

The 12 Days of Christmas performed by Straight No Chaser

I’ve been tumbling this idea over in my head for a few months now. Our speaker a few weeks ago at Rotary finally pushed me over the ledge with this idea: “What is your Very Important Purpose?”

He told a story about consulting with a client regarding life insurance.

Client: I need to buy life insurance.
Advisor: Why?
Client: I want to protect my family in case I die.
Advisor: Why?
Client: I have two young daughters and I want to be sure they get to go to college.
Advisor: Why?
Client: Because it is important to me that they get a good start in life.
Advisor: Why?
Client: Because my mother died when she was 43 of a rare hereditary disease. I’m 35 now and I have the genetic markers indicating I’m likely to develop the same disease. I probably won’t be here to protect and support my daughters so an education will have to help perform that duty.

Understanding this client’s Very Important Purpose certainly sheds light on the choices he might be making and the information he’s going to need from his advisors. When we don’t ask “Why?” we are left trying to guess at the motivations behind the action or question. Often, we’ll guess right or the client won’t understand anyway the differing advice we might give if we had the whole picture – but are we really providing the service our clients need?

Socrates said: “The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.” Of course, we all know lots of things about tax, business, accounting etc. But when it comes to our clients, how often have we assumed that we understand them and skipped the Why? It’s definitely time to Why’s up.

A message from Jeff Breeden, CPA
For more information on why Jeff is a Passionate Accountant click here!

Below you will find a link to a fun story about bees and business.

http://bit.ly/bSDwzY

The Issue

A well-known manufacturing/distribution company with approximately 200 employees and annual revenue >$25 million, needed to attract the right talent for new R&D and Plant Manager positions that would fit with the existing management team’s behavioral styles.  Past recruiting efforts had been “hit and miss”. Training costs as a result of turnover were too high.

The Fix

We used proven behavior assessments to clarify exactly what kind of candidate would be the best fit for the two positions that needed to be filled. We benchmarked the job requirements, assessed the behavioral styles of the existing management team, developed profiles for the ideal candidates for the positions, and evaluated potential candidates using quantifiable metrics for fit for the positions.

In laymans terms? We figured out what the job required, and then used the assessments to pin-point a candidate with just that skill set.

The Outcome

The company hired the right talent for the positions the first time, enhanced the management team, and saved tens of thousands of dollars on costs related to re-hiring, re-training, and disruptions to existing workforce operations. Aligning the job with the candidates’ strengths not only causes an increase in productivity and a decrease in turnover, but also creates a less stressful environment for employees and management. A more satisfying environment for all.

Bob Staiger
www.swensoncorp.com

I was talking to a friend of mine who is a swim coach the other day about one of his swimmers.  He was telling me about how this kid could change her stroke technique in the middle of a race.  Never having been a competitive swimmer I didn’t think that was such a big deal and made the mistake of saying this out loud.  Well, he assured me that this was a bigger deal than I understood by explaining that too many swimmers get in the race, put their head down and just keep swimming without thinking about technique and what is happening during the race around them.  Focus is what he kept referring to; the kid can focus during a race and make a correction when she needs to.

Use any analogy or example you want, you end up where you focus your attention.  To have focus you need information from measures that drive your team in the right direction and keep you aware of your surroundings.  Too often business owners are either focused on stale information or spread too thin.  Distractions, both personal and professional, take away your ability to drive you in the direction your organization needs to keep moving not just to survive but excel.

What is the information, the measures that individuals in your company use to focus on daily, weekly, monthly for results?  Are these the right ones?  Do you have any, besides the stale monthly financials?  Does your team understand and know how to use them?

I just heard Jason Jennings, a bestselling author of in the business genre, at a conference I recently attended discussing common traits that great businesses all have in common.  Going back to the sports analogy, people love sports because you keep score; you can distinguish between a winner and a loser.  Take away the score and no one cares.

Everyone wants to win and if you give them a measure to keep score they will drive themselves.  You don’t want those content to sit the bench.  Granted the measure/information has to be the right one as we all know horror stories of garbage in and garbage out.

Most businesses have a good idea of what they need to know.  They need help getting it organized, prioritized and then someone to help them follow up.   Get your team focused on the right measures, follow up and you can change your stroke in the middle of the race.     And that ability to adjust can make all the difference in who crosses the finish line first.